Herbert P. Carrow

Herbert Porter Carrow, Xi, 1902, Phi Alpha 1918-1919

Herbert Porter Carrow, Xi, 1902, was a successful manufacturer. He
was born in 1880 in Canton, China, where his father, Flemming Carrow, M.D. served as a
surgeon in the military service of the Chinese government. Upon returning to the United
States, Dr. Carrow was a pioneer in the study and practice of Ophthalmology.

Brother Carrow was the secretary and treasurer for more than forty years of Hayes
Manufacturing Company, which produced metal sheet parts and forgings, in Detroit. He
was an officer of the Detroit Board of Trade and President of the National Editorial
Association.

Brother Carrow was a strong alumni supporter of the Xi chapter at the University of
Michigan. He was the master of ceremonies as the chapter lay the new cornerstone of
its new house in August 1899.

The amusing story of Brother Carrow’s role in this ceremony is described in The Story of Zeta Psi, pages 388-389, 1932. [Below]

“The ceremony attending the laying of the cornerstone of the new house took place
in August, 1899, and was a unique event in the history of this particular brand of
masonry. The Committee on Program was Herbert P. Carrow, ’02 (later Phi Alpha of
the Fraternity); the Committee on Arrangements was Herbert P. Carrow; the Arch-
Mason for the occasion was Herbert P. Carrow; the principal (and only) speaker for the
occasion was Herbert P. Carrow; the audience was Herbert P. Carrow and Dean Green
of the engineering college who, besides sharing the honors of audience, had some
supervisory activities connected with the occasion. We have Brother Carrow’s word for
it that the stone was duly placed amid all the necessary sentimental accompaniments,
including breaking upon it of a bottle of wine, which had been presented for the
occasion by “Ma” Schneider, the famous dispenser, during her day of Pilsner and Swiss
sandwiches. The ceremony ended, Professor Green continued his work of supervision,
while the various committees and the rest of the audience bicycled to “Ma” Schneider’s
to while away the balance of a hot August afternoon with a few other lonesome
collegians.

The official opening of the new house was held at commencement time, June
1900, and the event brought together the largest number of Zetes that had ever
gathered in Ann Arbor. Brother Carrow writes that the Zetes “were the envy of the
university throughout the celebration, and it was with great difficulty that members of
several other fine fraternities were brought to the realization of the fact that the Zeta Psi
house was not their permanent abode”